A Thief's Heart
by Koneko Hoshi
Summary: Yuugi is an orphan living on the streets. Atem is thief. When Yuugi meets Atem will he become swept up in a world of notorious crime? HIATUS


Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

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The sweltering heat beat down on the city streets where hundreds of peasants went about their daily lives. Some selling their wears and others were buying them. No one noticed as a small boy made his way to a street corner and plopped down on it. In truth, they had noticed but the lad had come to the same spot for years. As people got used to him, he became invisible.

In a short time the boy became very discouraged. More and more people passed by and none of them placed any money in the sack he had for money. He noticed some dirt just below his left knee and dusted it off. His entire body was covered in dirt. It came form years of sleeping alleys among people's garbage. Because he lived on the streets, he did not get the opportunity to bathe much. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a hooded figure slip two solid gold coins into his sack. Embarrassed, he immediately stopped his futile attempts to clean himself and stared as the hooded figure made his way down the street. He grabbed the coins and turned them over and over in his hands, then put them in his sack and tied it to his belt. He could not believe his incredible luck. He smiled 'Bastet must be looking out for me after all! I was thinking that she had abandoned me but, I might actually be able to eat tonight!' he thought happily as he stood up off the ground and turned to head down an alleyway.

The sun was beginning to set as the boy continued his way down the ally that was his home "Huh!" the boy gasped as something warm rubbed against his legs. He looked down peering into the darkness as a pair of bright golden eyes stared back at him. "Hello Radamès! (1)" he said as he bent down to scoop up the cat, so it lay on its back. Radamès immediately began to lick the grime off his human's fingers. "What sort of mischief you been up to today?" he scratched under the cat's chin. His breath stank of fish. "I thought I saw you going after Mr. Hassan's fish today in the market place!" he chided playfully. The cat sniffed the air and threw his ears back. He then started to wiggle out of the boy's grasp, so the boy had to let him go. He stood on the dirty ground, his tail wagging furiously. The boy shifted his stare from the cat to up the alleyway where the cat was staring there and back at the cat. Most people would have dismissed the cat's behavior has hunting or paranoia. However the boy wasn't so sure, Radamès had a funny way of sensing things.

Suddenly he felt a rush of cold wind coming at him as tall man hurried towards him at an alarming speed. A short wooden handled dagger was partially concealed in his hand. The boy looked at him frozen with fear. He knew this man; he'd met him before. He did not know the man by name nor did he really care. All he knew was he did not care to relive the experience again. This man was the reason that the boy had a rather long scar down his side. The man smelled of alcohol then just as much as he did now. The man cut the dagger in to the flesh of the boy' cheek drawing blood. He placed the short dagger, at the side of the boy's neck. The boy squirmed under the man's grasp.

"I saw that!" he exclaimed as he looked at the boy in pain sadistically.

"Saw…what?" gasped the boy under the man's strong grasp.

"You've got three gold pieces in your hand!"

"I…do…not…" gasped the boy while trying not gag at the man's foul breath.

"Yes you do, you little shit!" screamed the man as he shifted his bare foot.

Suddenly a loud caterwaul was heard. Startled, the man let go of the boy, who took the moment as a chance to look at the man who was now looking at the cat.. It appeared that the man had stepped on the cat's tail.

"Yaoch!" the man screamed as the cat scratched his ankle drawing blood.

Someone in the shadows chuckled.

"Show yourself!" commanded the man, pointing his dagger in the direction of the noise.

"Very well," A figure the boy recognized as the hooded man from earlier stepped out.

The man rolled his eyes "Take off your hood!"

The hooded man did not comply. "Let me get this straight, mister, or should I say you pathetic excuse for a human being, I don't take orders!" he stated as he took steps closer to the man with the dagger. When he got close enough he traced the edge of the blade with his finger. He then darted around the back of the man unsheathing his own dagger. Unlike the other man's dagger, this one was much longer and had a gold handle in the shape of a serpentine dragon with two phoenixes soaring off each side. A long tassel hung off the end which indicated that it was Chinese. He hit the man with the back of the handle and caught him as he fell backwards. The boy came forward.

"Here let me take him," he said.

The hooded man looked at him. "Are you sure? He is kind of heavy…"

"Yes," The boy stated. Then he took the man's body and dragged it over to the wall with quite some difficulty. He looked around and found a few empty beer bottles then placed one in the unconscious man's hand and the others around him. Then he turned to the hooded man.

"Thank you!" he said.

"No problem!"

The hooded man took off his hood revealing beautiful tri-colored hair. Blonde bangs outlined his face and a few shot into ebony black hair which gave way to scarlet tips. The boy's hair was very similar except his bangs did not shoot into the ebony part in his hair. He had wide lavender eyes .The stranger had narrow scarlet eyes.

"What's your name?" The boy asked.

"Atem, and you are?"

"Yuugi"

"How old are you Yuugi?"

"About sixteen summers, and you?"

"Oh really? I thought you were about eleven or twelve. As for my age, I'm about that …maybe a little older."

"Want some dinner? Thanks to you I've still got those two gold coins…Hey where did you get them anyway?"

"That's my secret," stated Atem

Yuugi dug deeply in his sack, only to find it empty. "Hey! You are a thief aren't you?"

"Guilty as charged!" Atem stated happily.

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(1) Radamès is pronounced Ra-Da-Maze

And Atem will give back the money to Yuugi.


End file.
